A patient approach and the decision to forgo winter carnival targets in Brisbane is set to pay dividends for Godolphin and their exciting filly In Secret.
A rare yearling purchase for the global operation, which mostly relies on breeding from its own high-quality stock, In Secret has opened favourite against a cracking field of fillies in Saturday’s Group 2 Silver Shadow Stakes (1200m) at Randwick.
Unbeaten in two starts, In Secret was put in the paddock after capturing the Listed Woodlands Stakes at Scone in May with Godolphin head trainer James Cummings and his team opting to take a long-term view rather than press on to the Brisbane winter carnival.
Cummings is hoping it’s a decision that leads to even bigger rewards this spring, starting on Saturday.
“It’s going to be a good test for In Secret, but she is flying along in her gallops,” Cummings said.
“We will find out what sort of transition she is ready to make now she is hitting the racetrack first-up as a three-year-old filly.”
By I Am Invincible out of multiple stakes-winning sprinter Eloping, In Secret is bred for speed.
However, Cummings is open to extending her out in distance, particularly against her own age and sex.
While he will keep all options on the table and be guided by her early-season form, he says the Flight Stakes and Thousand Guineas, both over a mile, remain on the radar.
“She is bred to be fast and yet despite that, we have stretched other brilliant fillies out to a mile before and had success doing it,” he said.
“The Flight Stakes and Thousand Guineas are classic races for horses like her, but if we think it’s going to be too much of a stretch, we can take stock and re-evaluate.”
In Secret headed Thursday’s TAB fixed odds markets at $3.30, ahead of Willinga Beast ($6.50) and Queen Of The Ball ($9.50).